Misspent Youth
by sanctum-c
Summary: Aeris escalates from accidental shop-lifting to something else entirely.


The first thing Aeris stole was unintentional. She had been sorting through the fruit while helping Mom at the market in Sector Five – looking for the few ripe apples not horribly battered and bruised from their long trip to Midgar. The apple in question had gone into her flower basket for a moment as she helped Mom juggle the rest of the shopping and was soon forgotten as they moved onto the next section. Aeris found it later that evening as she sorted through the remaining unsold flowers. The apple lay there in amongst the stems. Not paid for. Stolen. And it seemed no one had noticed.

As far as things went, Aeris knew she should say something. To mom, to the market stall-holder; a return, apology, and contrition. To not do so was bad and wrong; a clear enough moral in the stories mom used to read to her at bedtime. Thieves were always caught. But Aeris said nothing to Mom.

The apple stayed in the bottom of her basket and Aeris carried it upstairs. Maybe it was embarrassment at the mistake. Maybe it was fear of reprisal – though surely those involved would accept that it had been an accident. Maybe it was the notion that no one would miss just this one apple. Aeris ate it after dinner in her room and disposed of the evidence in the garden. A fleeting notion then that perhaps she could coax an apple tree from the ground. Unlikely; the flowers were hard enough work; a whole tree seemed beyond her.

Despite her certainty of no one missing the apple, Aeris was unable to shake the nerves on her and Mom's next visit to the market. Was the man who ran the stall wearing a fake smile? Was his gaze too calculating, too suspicious? Did he know everything, had somehow dug up the patch of dirt the apple core resided and knew that someone in the house had taken it from him? And was he then waiting for her to make the wrong move and then come down on her with all that the law allowed?

Not today at least. Nervousness and a faint panic prevented even the vague impulse to see what would happen if she took something on purpose. Everything remained in her hand, mom's shopping basket or back where it came from. Everything. Not one thing allowed to rest on or in her basket for more than a moment. Probably for the best; the people here were too familiar and too nice to her.

The Upper plate felt different. Almost all strangers up here; strangers with money to put the slums to shame and little time to even slow down as they jostled Aeris on their way to and from wherever they felt they needed to be ten minutes ago. People might coo and extol the virtues of her flowers when she came up here to sell them, but most tended to be far more miserly with their money that any of the slum dwellers. A few would pay what she asked – what she felt they could bear. Most quibbled and haggled, pointing out actual and imaginary imperfections in her flowers. The price was still higher than anyone in the slums could afford, but compared to the luxury up here, that they kicked up such a fuss felt wrong somehow.

Venturing into a shop after that day at the market provoked that same impulse to again take something – anything. Something small and hard to get made sense. Small for concealment, and hard to get because otherwise why bother? Chocolate seemed good. Not much of it below plate, and something she only tasted on rare occasions given the high cost. And would any shop miss one bar? But unlike the market, this place was already paranoid; camera lenses stared down through-out the store. Not quite total coverage – there were a few places Aeris was certain no camera could see, though disappointingly these oversights corresponded directly with the instant tea and coffee or in full view of the counter.

Not here then. Or not yet- Another customer bustled into the store and asked for cigarettes. The girl behind the counter turned to fetch them. No one was looking at Aeris. There were no cameras pointed right at the counter either. Aeris snatched the chocolate bar up and stuffed it into her basket, shifting the flowers to disguise its presence. She waited behind the customer, heart pounding. She could give up at any point, take the bar out of the counter and pay for it- The customer ahead of her left and the girl behind the counter looked at her expectantly.

Aeris plonked the jar of instant coffee down and waited. The girl glanced at her half-way between disinterested and bored; she scanned the coffee, quoted the price in gil and dumped the coins Aeris gave her in the till. Aeris almost sagged with relief as she headed for the door. "Not paying for the Kalm Bar then?" Aeris froze. Flee or fess up? She could try and pay now, could deny everything. She glanced over her shoulder at the smirking girl. "You're new at this." Aeris remained silent. The girl sighed. "Just take it. Not like they notice any of the others."

Aeris licked her lips and turned to face her; the two of them were alone in the shop. "So you do it too."

The girl grinned. "You got me there. Have to, given how little they pay me." She studied Aeris. "You don't look like the type to be honest."

"I don't-"

The girl held up her hand and shook her head. "You don't need to explain yourself. Heard all the excuses. Probably agree with half of them. But you could do well to trade on that innocent look."

"'Innocent look'?" Aeris echoed.

"Yeah," the girl gestured. Long hair, neat. Ribbon. Long dress. Selling flowers." She grinned again. "Ought to help." Her expression shifted. "Actually. You wouldn't look out of place up here."

"I'm not from here."

"I can tell. But lot of people up here aren't going to think that." She stuck out her hand. "Name's Undyne."

Aeris shook her hand. "Aeris."

"So, Aeris. You interested in something bigger and more fun that a Kalm Bar?" Undyne's smile was infectious.

"What do you mean? Like, bank robbery or something?"

Undyne burst into laughter. "That would be something," she said as she finally caught her breath. "But, no. I suppose it would be a thrill, but I was thinking of something a little more mundane. If you're interested, come back in two hours when I close up."

Easier for her to walk way now. Little chance she would ever run across Undyne again if she avoided the store. Better chances if she remained off the upper plate as well. And hopefully not much she could do with just her first name – she was not the only Aeris even in the slums, not to mention at least one Aerith lived there as well. But she did not flee, and kept an eye on the time, stayed close to the shop and carried on selling flowers. The chocolate bar helped her stave off her shivers in the chilly air as she waited.

Two hours later and Undyne pulled down the metal shutters to the store and shot Aeris that same infectious grin. "Wasn't sure if you would show."

"You've gotten me curious I have to say," Aeris replied, falling into step beside her new acquaintance. "Where are we going?"

"Where the Shinra execs live." Undyne headed towards Sector Four.

"We're not… we're not breaking into anyone's home are we?" Aeris glanced around. It was late; the last train down to the slums would leave in an hour. There were hotels to be had in a pinch, but given the cost-

"No, nothing like that." A new grin from Undyne. "Their cars on the other hand…"

"Their cars?"

"Hell, yes. You ever driven before?" Aeris shook her head. "And I bet no one you know has a car?" She shook her head again. "So, Shinra – especially the execs – have all this money. So while people are in the slums with nothing, most of the people up here have more money that they can spend, and those same jerks have these shiny cars that cost-" Undyne took a breath. "Let's just say they're expensive."

"You want to steal stuff belonging to Shinra?" Aeris asked. "Like for your own politics?"

"Kinda?" Undyne replied. "But driving's fun, and I don't get to do it often. So we are going to avail ourselves of what the upper crust has." Undyne lead her into Sector Four, the streets lined with tall houses, cars parked outside each. Undyne stopped them in a darker side-street and produced a metal strip from under her jacket.

"So; first we get the door open with this-" She slid the strip into the door and yanked it up; the door unlocked with a clunk. "Simple huh?"

"It's really that easy?" Aeris stared at the unlocked door and the metal strip. "Can't they stop that?"

Undyne shrugged. "Some of the really new cars have this anti-theft mechanism in them." Undyne waved the piece of metal. "But most people don't know you can get these or how to use 'em." She pulled the door open and crouched down, motioning Aeris beside her. "So, this time I'll do the hotwiring. You can give it a shot next time."

Aeris nodded. "Not like you can hold onto the car in the morning."

"Right." Undyne pulled at the panel beneath the steering wheel, pointing out to Aeris where the clips that held it in place were and how to detach them. She singled out the relevant wires, explained how to strip the protective rubber coating to twist them together. The car rumbled into life and Undyne ushered her into the passenger seat. With a screech of tires, she sent them hurtling through the darkened streets. Aeris mentioned needing to catch the last train, and Undyne promised she could make it in a matter of moments – her new friend was as good as her word.

They arranged to meet the next night, and this time Aeris clumsily hot-wired a new car, well away from the site of their first crime. At her partner's tutelage she also learned the basics of driving. Nerve-wracking at first; Aeris had difficulty with the car moving at anything above an absolute crawl. Undyne was was patient with her and talked Aeris through everything she could need to know. Difficult to stop after that; they kept the habit up for two years, once a week and taking it in turns to get the car running and take the wheel as they sped around the city.

Until one day, Undyne wasn't in the shop anymore; an empty-eyed boy had taken her place behind the cash register and despite hours of waiting, Aeris saw no sign of her. A week later and she conceded defeat and asked the boy what happened to her. He shrugged; no idea. And that was that. Aeris headed back out to the streets. No way to find Undyne. No number, no contact information, no last name. Aeris never saw her again.

* * *

"We can take the truck!" Aeris shouted over her shoulder as they charged across the Shinra lobby. Tifa, Barret and Red XIII bounded after her. How long until Shinra gave up waiting outside and came charging through the front doors? Not long enough. Aeris skidded to a halt beside the driver-side door of the truck. Thankfully it was not locked; unsurprisingly though there were no keys in the sunvisor or in the ignition. No problem. She wrenched the panel off without a second thought, located the wires and got the engine running. "Thanks Undyne," she murmured.

"Can you drive?" Tifa asked from the passenger seat, watching as Aeris pressed the panel back into place.

"I can." She grinned at Tifa. The truck shook as Barret scrambled into the back followed by a smaller shake as Red XIII followed him. A moment later, Cloud hurtled down the stairs on the Hardy Daytona previously on display. "Everyone ready?" Aeris called. A slightly nervous chorus of affirmatives sounded from her companions as Aeris gunned the engine and sent them speeding after Cloud as he headed back up the stairs. He paused at the top to catch her eye and twisted the throttle.

Tifa leant forward. "Wait. Cloud isn't-"

"Yes he is!" Aeris shouted as she stomped the accelerator into the floor. Ahead, Cloud's bike hurtled off of the raised lobby floor, through the plate glass fronting the lobby and onto the highway beyond. Aeris followed right behind.


End file.
